Jewellery Education
Everything you need to know to make an informed purchase
Education - the 4 c's
Stone shape
Far more than simply what shape a rough diamond has been polished into, the shape is the most important determiner of a diamond’s brilliance and light dispersion.
Round
Clean, classic, versatile and with more fire and brilliance than any other shape, it would be difficult to persuade anyone against this choice—as proven by the fact that it accounts for more than half of all diamonds sold today.
Emerald
Speaking volumes of vintage glamour and old world charm, and favoured by such style icons as Grace Kelly and Jackie O, the emerald cut was one of the first cuts to be used in jewellery design, and with its broad flat plane highlights the clarity and natural crystalline growth of a diamond to unparalleled measure.
Pear
Infamously given to Elizabeth Taylor by two-time-husband Richard Burton, the pear, or teardrop as it is sometimes called, is a unique and feminine shape with one rounded and one pointed end that makes for a delicate and stunning choice.
Princess
Much like the round brilliant, the Princess cut is a classic and elegant shape, although with its sharp corners boasts more of a contemporary edge. This shape is ideal way to capture the brilliance and simple elegance of the round and still be "à la mode".
Oval
Somewhere in between the round brilliant and the pear shape, the oval cut is the perfect choice if you’re wishing to savour the sparkle of the round brilliant in a slightly rarer and more elongated form.
Marquise
Originally commissioned in 18th century Paris by King Louis XV to emulate the smile of his mistress the Marchioness Madame de Pompadour, the Marquise harkens back to the glory of the age d’or, and is also an ideal way to optimise carat weight and elongate the finger.
Cushion
As its name suggests, the cushion cut is a square or rectangular shape with rounded corners, resembling a pillow shape. One of the rarer and more unique choices, the cushion cut’s large facets allow for great light dispersion, giving birth to a much larger range of spectral colours and making for a highly scintillating stone.
Radiant
A square- or rectangular-shaped hybrid cut that combines the brilliance and depth of the round, emerald and princess cuts, the radiant is the most brilliant of all the squared shapes making it both a beautiful and dramatic choice.
Asscher
Replete with timeless elegance and Art-Deco cool, the Asscher cut is a rectangular shape similar to the more well-known emerald cut, with prismatic brilliance, tremendous lustre and a fascinating optical illusion known as the "Hall of Mirrors" effect.Stone Clarity
When diamonds are formed, imperfections in the crystal structure can form and mineral impurities become trapped inside the stone. The size of these impurities determine grading.
IF
VVS1
VVS2
VS1
VS2
Eye-clean
SI1
SI2
I1
Not eye-clean
Stone Carat
Instead of grams or kilos, diamonds are weighed in carats (not to be confused with gold’s karat which signifies purity). 1 carat = 0.2grams. The higher the carat weight, the larger the diamond.
Stone Colour
Colour is a measurable grade given to an individual diamond to quantify how colourless it is along a diamond colour chart. Higher rated diamonds are as close to colourless as possible.
D
E
F
g
H
I
J
K
L
Education
Certification
Diamond certification is a process in which trusted experts use a grading system to quantify key qualities of a diamond to help you understand how it will look.
Education
Conflict Gems
Kingston Jewellers is proud not to stock conflict diamonds, which originate from war zones and are illegally traded to fund rebel warfare. We follow the Kimberly process.
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